2016 – Page 11 – The Sport Journal

Examining the impact of emotional intelligence and goal setting on basketball performance

Authors: Gobinder Singh Gill*(1)

Corresponding Author*: Gobinder Singh Gill

(1) Lecturer, Department of Sport, Travel & Uniformed Services, Birmingham Metropolitan College, UK (Email: psychologicaledge@outlook.com) Gobinder is a Lecturer in Sport Psychology and Research Methods. He is also a Teaching and Learning Coach who utilises emotional intelligence to improve performance levels in education and sport.

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this investigation was to examine the impact of emotional intelligence and goal setting in basketball. Having acknowledged the importance of emotional regulation in performance a suitable intervention to facilitate this process was tested. Using quantitative analysis to measure performance, participants completed a goal setting and emotional intelligence questionnaire during three periods of the regular season. Results revealed that participants who displayed high emotional intelligence levels set frequent goals. Participants also found that barriers to goals were overcome through specific action planning and related to individual requirements. Data for emotional intelligence demonstrated that participants also became self-aware of their own performance levels. In sum, this investigation advocates the use of goal setting to enhance emotional intelligence levels for performance outcomes in basketball. Future research should engage the use of emotional intelligence with packaged mental skills (e.g. imagery, self-talk and relaxation) to enhance performance levels. Further, using regression analysis would be useful in examining relationships more closely with the inclusion of more qualitative methodology.

KEYWORDS: Emotional Intelligence, Goal Setting, Strategy, Self-awareness, Intervention
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U.S. Sports Academy2016-02-19T15:15:00-06:00February 19th, 2016|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

The War Against Concussions

Authors: Marcos A. Abreu*(1), Wirt Edwards(2), Brandon D. Spradley(2)

(1) Doctoral student at the United States Sports Academy studying sports management.
(2) Professors at the United States Sports Academy

*Corresponding Author:
Marcos Abreu
Doctoral Student
United States Sports Academy
One Academy Drive
Daphne, Alabama 36526
mabreu@students.ussa.edu
251-626-3303

ABSTRACT
The game of football, especially at the higher levels, is becoming increasingly dangerous as athletes keep getting bigger, faster, and stronger. The rate at which concussions are occurring is alarming and player safety has become the topic of conversation among sport the community. Since the symptoms and signs of a concussion don’t always appear immediately or appear to be mild at first, the sports community originally assumed that the head injuries weren’t serious. Besides the risk of suffering another concussion, a growing body of research has linked sports concussions with serious long-term effects like depression and memory problems.

To make matters worse, researchers documented that high school and collegiate athletes do not report concussions sustained during football play because they were not aware of the signs and symptoms of a concussion. Furthermore, although the National Football League (NFL) injury report has shown a decrease of head injuries since 2012, PBS FRONTLINE’s Concussion Watch project reported that one-third of all concussions sustained during that time were left off the injury report. As research continues to expose the serious nature of sports concussion, league officials are facing constant scrutiny to change the rules and regulations that govern the game of football.

Although the sport of football has a protocol to assess a player for a concussion, visual inspections could limit the amount of information a health care provider could gather. To address these certain limitations, manufacturers designed football helmets to decrease the forces of impact and engineered technological solutions to better detect head impacts that may cause injury. The purpose of this study is to examine the advancements in concussion detection and prevention, ultimately, providing league officials with recommendations that could help reduce a player’s risk of a concussion. In addition to increasing concussion awareness, this study will support the balance between the adjustment to new concussion research and the sharing of knowledge acquired through research.

Keywords: concussion, concussion evaluation, concussion management, return-to-play, concussion prevention technology, football helmet concussion reducing design.
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U.S. Sports Academy2016-02-12T08:48:55-06:00February 12th, 2016|Concussions, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

The High Performance Management Model: From Olympic and Professional to University Sport in the United States

Authors: Jed Smith* (1), Peter Smolianov (2)

(1) Head Strength and Conditioning Coach and an Instructor in the area of Movement and Exercise Science at the University of Northern Iowa and is currently a doctoral student at the United States Sports Academy
(2) Sport Management Professor at Salem State University

*Corresponding Author
Jed Smith, MS, CSCS, USA Weightlifting National Coach, USA Weightlifting National Instructor, USA Track and Field Level 1 Track Coach
High Performance Director at University of Northern Iowa
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA, 50614-0241
Jed.smith@uni.edu
319-273-7867

ABSTRACT
This exploratory study of the High Performance Model of Sport Management examines the model’s origins and where these ideas were first applied in the sports industry. This review discusses the evolution of its use in high level sport, and the successes incurred in systems utilizing the model. The investigation discusses the recent spreading of the model throughout Olympic and professional sports organizations throughout the world, where High Performance concepts are being studied and implemented into professional sports franchises in the United States as well as American universities. This study focuses on a particular ingredient important to the success of the High Performance Model at the “meso” and “micro” levels of implementation. This central step is the establishment of an integral operational position titled “High Performance Director” or “High Performance Manager”. The duties, responsibilities, areas of expertise, and traits necessary for success are reviewed and discussed. The inquiry explores the natural evolution of the High Performance Model into the industry of NCAA Division I athletics, where implementation is occurring at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). Here, the Smith and Smolianov High Performance Model is being applied within UNI Athletics, using strength and conditioning as the median for operation. The infrastructure is being created and organized for proper application of the model. The study looks at how technology is being used to help monitor, track, and adjust training protocols as well as assist in the proper development of athletes. The review will indicate tactics used for selling the concepts internally, within an NCAA athletic, as well as an educational setting, exposing key players and supports, explaining the connection between these pillars of support and the importance of creating synergy, transparency, and an environment of effective communication. This work is the first in a series of exploratory reviews and future research to be conducted by the authors, who are reporting the current, ongoing case study, within UNI’s NCAA athletics/education program.

Keywords: high performance model, management, history
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U.S. Sports Academy2016-02-04T09:39:03-06:00February 4th, 2016|Sports Management|Comments Off

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and Former National Football League Player Suicides

Submitted by: Marcos A. Abreu*(1), Fred J. Cromartie (1), Brandon D. Spradley (1)
(1) United States Sports Academy

*Corresponding Author:
Marcos Abreu
Doctoral Student
United States Sports Academy
One Academy Drive
Daphne, Alabama 36526
mabreu@students.ussa.edu
251-626-3303

Marcos Abreu is a doctoral student at the United States Sports Academy studying sports management.

ABSTRACT
Purpose: Our understanding of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) has rapidly advanced, since 2002, when Dr. Bennet I. Omalu first discovered CTE in the brain of deceased former National Football League (NFL) player Mike Webster. Although it is clear that there is a link between the neurological diseases and exposure to repeated mild traumatic brain injuries, the explicit link between the long-term consequences that are associated with CTE and the suicide death of several former NFL players is much less clear. The purpose of this paper is to examine if the psychological and cognitive consequences that are associated with CTE are factors in the suicide death of several former NFL players.
Method: The literature used in this paper was acquired using the words NFL concussions, NFL player CTE research, CTE symptoms in NFL players, and NFL player suicide death in the EBSCOhost and Internet Explorer search engines.

Results: Although similar studies on the relationship between CTE and suicide in former NFL players determined that further research was needed to prove a connection (47, 22), the case study research and testimonial evidence discussed in this study reinforces Omula et al. (2010) findings that identified these psychological and cognitive consequences as key variables associated in suicide death of an alarming amount of NFL players, such as former Eagles and Arizona Cardinals Defensive Back Andre Waters, who resorted to suicide as a result of diminished neurological capabilities and accumulation of symptoms. (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2016-01-29T08:34:12-06:00January 29th, 2016|Sports Medicine|Comments Off

A Study of the Fan Motives for Varying Levels of Team Identity and Team Loyalty of College Football Fans

Submitted by David Gargone*(1)

(1) David Gargone is an assistant professor of business and director of the sport management program at Misericordia University.

*Corresponding Author:
David Gargone, Ed.D.
Misericordia University
301 Lake St
Dallas, PA 18612
dgargone@misericordia.edu
570-674-6337

ABSTRACT
Fan motives, factors that influence a person’s decision to attend a sporting event, affect sport consumption at both the amateur and professional levels. This study identified the fan motives, selected from the Sport Interest Inventory (SII), most influential on college football fans and more specifically examined the effects on fan motive prevalence of seven variables: team identity, team loyalty, team affiliation, conference affiliation, household income, age, and level of education. All seven variables exhibited a statistically significant effect, at the p < 0.001 level, on a majority of the 17 fan motives considered, with team loyalty exhibiting a statistically significant effect (p < 0.001) on all 17 motives. In general, higher levels of team identity and team loyalty were associated with greater preference for fan motives. Across all participants, excitement, drama, sport knowledge, and interest in team were identified as the most common college football fan motives; interest in players, bonding with family, interest in sport, and escape were identified as the least common motives.

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U.S. Sports Academy2016-01-25T08:19:48-06:00January 25th, 2016|Sports Management|Comments Off